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Getting Your Charter or Rental Business Ready Before Summer

By Colin Pemberton. Updated . 3 minute read.

Before the summer rush, update your website and listings with this season's dates, options, and policies. Make booking and contact easy on a phone. Have a plan for the calls you can't take while you're out on the water. Then ask last season's happy customers for reviews. Doing this in the off-season means you spend the busy months running trips, not answering the same questions.

What should you update on your website before the calls start?

Visitors plan ahead, often from their phones and often from out of town. Make sure your site answers their questions before they have to call:

  • Season dates and hours. When you open, when you close, and any days you don't run.
  • Trip or rental options. Each one with its length, what's included, and who it's good for. Families and first-timers want to know what to expect.
  • What to bring. Sunscreen, food and drinks, licenses, and anything you don't provide.
  • Policies. Weather, cancellations, deposits, age limits, and pet rules.
  • Current photos. This season's boat, gear, or rentals, not photos from years ago.
  • Where to meet you. The marina, dock, or pickup spot, with parking notes.

Keep the same details on your Google Business Profile, so customers see the same hours and dates wherever they look.

How do you make booking and contact easy on a phone?

Most of your customers will find you on a phone, often while they're already at the beach. Check your own site on your phone and ask:

  1. Can I call in one tap? Your phone number should be tap-to-call at the top of every page.
  2. Is the contact form short? Name, phone, dates, group size, and a note. That's usually enough.
  3. Are the answers easy to find? Put common questions on the page so people don't have to call just to ask them.
  4. Does it load quickly? Large photos can slow a site down on a weak beach signal.

How do you handle calls you can't take?

On the water, with customers, or in the middle of a turnover, you'll miss calls in the busy season. That's normal. What matters is what happens next.

  • Record a seasonal voicemail greeting that mentions your season dates and when you'll call back.
  • Block callback times each morning and evening.
  • Text back automatically. With missed-call text-back, every caller gets a text from your business right away and can reply with their dates and group size. You answer when you're back at the dock.

If you haven't worked out what missed calls cost you, what a missed call actually costs a service business walks through the math with your own numbers. Missed-call text-back is the first feature in our Growth Plan.

When and how should you ask for reviews?

Reviews help the next customer decide. The off-season is a good time to reach out to last season's happy customers.

  • Ask people you know had a great trip. A short, personal message works best.
  • Make it easy. Send the direct link to your review page.
  • Ask again during the season, right after a good trip, while it's fresh.
  • Keep it genuine. Don't offer rewards for reviews or write them yourself. It isn't allowed, and customers can tell.
  • Reply to reviews, briefly and politely, including the rare bad one.

What's on the pre-season checklist?

Screenshot this list and work through it before the season:

  • Season dates and hours updated on your website
  • Every trip or rental option listed, with what's included
  • Policies for weather, cancellations, and deposits posted
  • This season's photos added
  • Meeting spot and parking directions added
  • Phone number tap-to-call at the top of every page
  • Contact form tested from your own phone
  • Google Business Profile hours and photos updated
  • Facebook and other listings match your website
  • Seasonal voicemail greeting recorded
  • Missed-call text-back turned on
  • Review requests sent to last season's customers

Every site we build for businesses in Surf City and the rest of the Topsail area is built for phones first, with tap-to-call and a contact form that sends leads straight to your phone.

Questions

When should I update my website for summer?

Before customers start planning trips, which is often well before the season starts. Many visitors book ahead, so current dates, options, and policies need to be live early.

What should a charter or rental website include?

Your trip or rental options, season dates, what's included, what to bring, your policies, current photos, and a phone number that's easy to tap on a phone.

How do I handle calls while I'm out on the water?

Set a clear voicemail greeting, block regular callback times, and use missed-call text-back so callers get a text from you right away instead of calling someone else.

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